I have no doubt that Rep. Mary Peltola is the best candidate to represent Alaska in the U.S. House of Representatives. However, the way in which she has evaded questions about supporting her party’s nominee for president is a cynical cop-out.
“I’m not voting for Trump & I’m not endorsing anyone else either,” Peltola wrote in a social media post in July after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. “I won’t vote for a candidate who’s not pro-choice. I can’t ask Alaskans to vote for a candidate who’s not pro-energy.”
When asked if she would vote for Harris during last week’s televised debate with Republican candidate Nick Begich III, she said “I think both candidates are flawed and I don’t know why I would use up any of my gas on a race I don’t have any control over.”
Obviously Peltola is afraid of offending independent voters who are still open to voting for the former president. But let’s look at the some of the flaws in her statements.
There’s never been flawless candidate for any public office. Simply put, no human being is perfect. Every one of us has made countless mistakes during our lifetime. Learning from them is key to becoming a better person.
But first we have to admit we were wrong.
Yet even in the most mundane kind of circumstances, Trump has repeatedly shown he’s incapable of doing that. It’s partly what makes him the most flawed presidential candidate in American history.
There’s also never been a candidate whose policies are in perfect alignment with our own. That’s one reason why Peltola is wrong to judge Harris solely on her positions regarding unrenewable energy development. It’s also inconsistent with her boast about being able to “work across the aisle to get things done.” She should have confidence in using that skill to persuade enough Democrats and Harris to support significant increases in oil exploration and development in Alaska.
Now on the idea she doesn’t have any control over the outcome of the presidential race, I’ll turn to a former Republican governor from New Jersey.
Chris Christie stood by Trump until the day his supporters violently attacked the Capitol in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election results. After ending his longshot bid for the Republican Party nomination, he said “I am going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be president of the United States again.”
Now you might think that such a pledge includes endorsing Trump’s opponent. But last week after indicating he won’t vote for Trump and won’t endorse Harris he said “I’ll vote, but I may not vote for president.” And he added “my vote is not going to matter in New Jersey, anyway. She’s going to win New Jersey by 10 to 14 points.”
Despite their staunch opposition to Trump, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney also seem to be hiding behind that Electoral College excuse.
However, if they and other Republicans stood firm in their convictions, their collective endorsement of Harris could influence enough undecided voters in the swing states to ensure she will be our next president. Instead, they’re improving the odds that Trump will win.
And cynical Democrats like Peltola are making it even more likely.
There’s another defect in the Electoral College worth discussing. In his fraudulent scheme to overturn the 2020 election, it let Trump focus on challenging 320,000 votes in seven closely contested states.
If the winner had been determined by the popular vote, far fewer Republicans would have indulged in his evidence free claims and wild conspiracies that there were more than 7 million votes fraudulently cast and counted across all 50 states.
The events of Jan. 6 would not be a lasting stain on our democracy.
And we wouldn’t be worried about that ugly history repeating itself.
The Electoral College was included in the Constitution as a compromise with the slave states at a time when voting for president excluded all but property-owning white men. Today it’s effectively disenfranchising 136 million registered voters in 42 states. It’s going to take a constitutional amendment to get rid of it. But it has to go.
• Rich Moniak is a Juneau resident and retired civil engineer with more than 25 years of experience working in the public sector. Columns, My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire. Have something to say? Here’s how to submit a My Turn or letter.
